Interview by CYNTHIA ALTORISO
photography by DAVID CARLO

CYNTHIA ALTORISO: In a sentence or two, tell us what you do.

SUMMER RAYNE OAKES: Model. interior gardener, entomologist .

How did you discover your talent?

Sometimes it chooses you vs. you choosing it.

Tell us about early influences re what you do

I fell in love with the history of native cultures from around the world and of course, with nature. My mom couldn’t get me to come indoors, so I would often bring the outdoors in with me.

Tell us about an early creation…one of your first works.

I built an indoor waterfall in my room so I could raise aquatic insects.

Name some people you admire.

Tom Eisner, the Founder of Chemical Ecology, was my mentor. I really admire what he has done for the world.
The anthropologist Wade Davis.

Do you have a favorite place in your studio?

I love being at the kitchen table to work — the natural light floods in so beautifully from the North-facing windows. And of course, the hammock is meant for reading!

Do you have a favorite color?

I’ve fallen in and out of love with colors over the years. When I was young, I loved lilac. When I was a bit more rebellious, I traded all color up for gray. Then I settled on red. Really beautiful crimson red.

Do you listen to particular music while in your workplace?

Indie folk music…something soft and non-intrusive.

Are drop- ins welcome?

Often.

If you can choose anyone from history to do a project for or with, who would it be?

Great question. I might choose the Forefathers of the United States. The question would be whether we could transport them to modern times or whether I would go back in history.

What places on earth call to you?

The deep, impenetrable forests of the world.

Is there  a particular fragrance that you love?

I love how alive citrus smells. But my favorite smell in the whole world is the smell of fallen leaves on an Autumn morning.

What do you do to relax?

I read in my hammock, I do yoga. I like to cook for friends.

BIOGRAPHY

Summer Rayne Oakes has spent the last decade infusing sustainable-thinking and practices into the heart of the fashion and beauty industries. Over the last five years she has co-authored the best-selling book Style, Naturally; served as a correspondent on Discovery Networks; designed environmentally-preferable lines with Payless, Portico and Modo eyewear; and co-founded Source4Style, an award-winning marketplace that connects thousands of designers in 80 countries to sustainable material suppliers in 38 countries around the world.

She and her work have been featured in a range of media outlets worldwide including: CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, The Guardian, Vogue, Vanity Fair, L’Officiel, Above, GQ, Natural Health, INC, Forbes, and many others. Outside magazine called her a “Top Environmental Activist,” Amica listed her as one of the “Top 20 Trendsetters under 40,” and CNBC named her one of their “10 Best Green Entrepreneurs.” In 2013, she was one of eleven women featured in the iconic Pirelli Calendar shot by photographer Steve McCurry of Afghan Girl fame.

In 2012, Toyota introduced the sportier more compact version of the Prius C to the market—inspired by Summer’s own life and work (they even went so far as to name a paint color in her honor). That same year, Oakes went on to release her first short film—the highly-lauded eXtinction, for which Harvey Weinstein called, “An important film that everyone must see,” and anthropologist and author Wade Davis praised the film as, “An elegy, a poem, a cry from the heart from an inspired artist and devoted sister of the natural world.” On the heels of her last 38-episode podcast—SRO Conversations, which launched in 2013, Oakes will release a new series entitled IDEA NOSH featuring hour-long conversations with well-respected luminaries and notable people who shape our world.

Broadening out from what we wear to what we eat, Oakes has been helping the Good Eggs team—a farmer’s market meets online grocer—with grassroots level community engagement to ultimately help grow and sustain local food systems. Most recently she launched SugarDetox.Me to help guide people on a 30-day sugar detox. She graduated cum laude from Cornell University with degrees in Environmental Science & Entomology. You may often see her in Brooklyn walking her African millipedes or flexing her green thumb in her indoor plant gardens.